Cloaking Device
A Cloaking Device is a stealth device used to disguise large objects, in particular starships. When in operation the shielded object becomes completely invisible to the electromagnetic spectrum and most sensors. History The first cloaking devices in known space were invented by the Romulans. Installed into the T'Liss-Class Light Warbird, cloaked ships were first trialed in 2266 and were quickly adopted across the Romulan fleet. Although the cloak had high energy requirements and precluded the use of weapon systems while in operation, the tactical benefit was immediately obvious. As part of the Klingon/Romulan alliance of the late 23rd century, cloaking device technology was traded to the Klingon Empire and began to be installed on some of their craft. The Klingons even managed to refine a version in the 2290s which had a low enough energy use to be fired while cloaked, though increased exhaust emissions from the overtaxed engine led to a far faster rate of detection and the modification was ultimately ruled a dead-end. Federation operatives managed to steal a cloaking device from a Romulan craft in the 23rd century. The Romulans protested this was an act of war as it involved a Federation captain taking a ship into their territory violation of the Romulan Neutral Zone, an incident that Federation spent decades denying occured. Based on this stolen example they attempted to mimic the technology. Federation development of the cloaking device was scrapped in 2311 with the signing of the Treaty of Algeron which prohibited the Federation from using their stolen data to develop cloaking devices for military use. This wording still allows cloaks to be used on scientific expeditions - for example, disguising a craft that wishes to spy on a pre-stellar planet without breaking the Prime Directive - but means that Federation starships cannot be equipped with cloaks without explicit Romulan permission. Exceptions were granted during the Dominion War. Other powers such as the Cardassians and Gorn have occasionally experimented with cloaking technology, but the high power demands and constant operative maintenance to keep a ship disguised has rendered it impractical without the expertise of the Romulans to assist. Rumour exist of continued Federation attempts to investigate the cloaking technology in violation of the treaty, with a faction of Starfleet Admirals arguing that the Romulan Star Empire functionally no longer exists so no treaties signed would still be valid. Operation Cloaking devices bend light and electromagnetic data around the affected object, preventing it from showing up visually or on standard sensors. The system is very sensitive to power and mass fluctuations which means cloaked ships must keep a variety of systems deactivated. As a rule, a ship while cloaked has minimal shielding and cannot fire its weapon systems without disrupting the cloak. Trained engineers must constantly monitor and adjust the cloak to keep the ship hidden. While Federation forces cannot detect an unexpected cloaked ship, if they have reason to beleive one is in an area of space there are options available to them. From high-tech solutions such as a fleet forming a tachyon detection grid to as simple a skill as visually observing the area for unexpected "ripples", several methods have been used over the years. While these usually allow the detection of a cloaked ship they tend not to confirm the nature of the starship - a cloaked scout ship and a cloaked battlecruiser would both look identical to most detection systems. Category:Technology